A 53 break from Williams was not enough to claim the eighth frame, with a safety error on the pink punished before Robertson produced another unanswered run of 88 to seal his place in the quarter-finals.

Robertson, who failed to qualify for last year’s tournament, said: “I had to pick up the pace, it was as simple as that.

“I had to force myself to play the way I do in practice in terms of the tempo. That’s what I did and I got going and felt absolutely fantastic.

Great win today against the World champ. Awesome atmosphere created by such amazing fans once again at Alexandra Palace!🙌🏻 pic.twitter.com/174S5SrEnj